Saturday, July 21, 2012

The weekend. We flew back from NYC (to C.I.'s place here in California) today. So another plane trip under my daughter's belt. She'll be thrilled to go to Hawaii.

Now let's talk about the 2012 vote. As you may know, there have been efforts in Florida to purge the voter rolls. This was done by the GOP. And Barack and his Justice Department were going to save the day! But Barack being Barack, a funny thing happened on the way to justice . . . Ed Hightower (WSWS) reports:

The decision to collaborate with Florida’s voter purge is the latest
evidence that the 2012 presidential election will be the most
antidemocratic such election at least since the US Supreme Court helped
George W. Bush steal the presidency by halting a state-required vote
recount in the 2000 presidential election.It is worth noting
that in that election, Florida election officials, under the direction
of Governor Jeb Bush, brother of then-candidate George W. Bush, targeted
12,000 supposed felons for removal from the voter rolls in a blatant
attempt to keep African Americans away from the polls. Another 48,000
were targeted in 2004, again including huge numbers of eligible voters.The
Obama administration’s backing down has profound political
significance. First and foremost, it demonstrates once again that there
exists no constituency within the ruling class that supports even the
most fundamental of democratic rights. Democrats fear that any
substantial protest or fight on the issue of democratic rights could
touch off a broader social movement that could easily escape their
control.

The terrorist assassination in Damascus of three leading figures in
the Syrian government took place in the government’s National Security
building, targeting a meeting of the cabinet at which Syrian President
Bashar Assad himself was supposed to be present. It killed Assef
Shawkat, the deputy head of the armed forces and Assad’s brother-in-law,
Defence Minister Dawoud Rahja and Chief of Crisis Operations Hassan
Turkmani. Interior Minister Mohammad Shaar, head of intelligence Hisham
Bekhtyar and other top officials were wounded.The Free Syrian
Army (FSA) and the Liwa al-Islam (Brigade of Islam) both claimed
responsibility, with the FSA stating that powerful bombs had been
planted utilizing drivers and bodyguards working for Assad’s inner
circle.The bombing of such a strategic centre of the Baathist
regime could not have been carried out without high-level intelligence,
contacts and trained operatives. It is hard to believe that it would
have taken place without the knowledge and possibly the active
connivance of the United States, Britain and other European imperialist
powers that are directing the insurgency. Syria today is awash with
advanced weaponry and military trainers and intelligence agents—funded
to the tune of hundreds of millions by the United States, Saudi Arabia,
Qatar and Turkey.

It was a pre-emptive strike against a pre-emptive strike.When Nasser al-Awlaki found out in early 2010 that his American-born
son Anwar was on American kill list, he responded in a very American
way: He sued. "I used every legal means possible to stop the killing of
my son," he said in an interview this past spring. Snd so — despite
the notoriety of Anwar al-Awlaki and the success of Anwar al-Awlaki in
inspiring terrorist attacks against the United States — he contacted
the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional
Rights, and they eventually filed a suit that attempted to enjoin the
Obama Administration from carrying out its plans to kill him before he
could carry out his alleged plans to kill Americans.
Nasser al-Awlaki did not win. Legal pre-emption was no match for the
policy of lethal pre-emption. A federal judge ruled in December 2010
that despite the "profound questions" raised by the lawsuit, the father
lacked the legal standing to sue on behalf of his son, and that the
policy of targeted killing was a political issue outside the purview of
the court. The hunt for Anwar al-Awlaki proceeded apace, and he was
executed, by drone, on September 30, 2011, in the mountains of Yemen.So was Samir Khan, an American citizen who'd left Charlotte, North
Carolina, to travel by Anwar al-Awlaki's side as an Al Qaeda
propagandist and web editor.

Ten and a half years into the Guantánamo experiment, as it becomes
ever harder for those who are still appalled by the prison’s existence,
and by the failures of all three branches of the US government
— under Barack Obama — to close it, my friends and colleagues Jeffrey
Kaye and Jason Leopold are to be commended for not giving up, and for
digging away at the secrets that still shroud Guantánamo, and that,
moreover, are still capable of providing a shock when uncovered, even if
they are generally ignored by the mainstream media.On Wednesday, the mainstream media decided to pay attention for a change, and Jeff and Jason’s report on a drugging scandal at Guantánamo, published on Truthout,
where Jason is the lead investigative reporter and Jeff, a full-time
psychologist, is also a regular contributor, was picked up by mainstream
media outlets including the Associated Press, AFP and Britain’s Daily Mail.
Their article was based on the release of a Pentagon report, “Investigation of Allegations of the Use of Mind-Altering Drugs to Facilitate Interrogations of Detainees”
that they requested through Freedom of Information legislation two
years ago, and it paints a depressing story of prisoners at Guantánamo
being given given powerful anti-psychotic medication and then, on
occasions, interrogated, even though they were in no fit state to answer
questions competently.

And yet the 'leaders' of the left like Tom Hayden still insist that Barack must get your vote. Barack doesn't deserve your vote. He's a Republican in Democrat clothing. Barack out of office means the Democrats have to regroup and go back to core beliefs. Barack with a second term means the Democratic Party becomes more like the Republican Party -- and there's already nearly no difference between the two.

Mitt Romney? If you're for him, good for you. He's a Republican. Doesn't hide it like Barack. Doesn't pretend to be the friend to the little guy like Barack does.

If I vote, I'll vote Jill Stein most likely. But more and more, I'm of the opinion that I just won't vote for president.

Regardless, I will not vote for Barack. He has not earned my vote, he does not deserve it.

Friday,
July 20, 2012 (and, yes, today is the 20th, not yesterday). Chaos and
violence continue, a document -- a secret document -- Nouri wrote in
2009 just emerged, Ramadan starts Saturday Grand Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani declares, Iraqis struggle with obtaining basic food stuffs,
we continue covering the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy Martin
Kobler's report on Iraq, we wonder when he'll stop being so squirmy when
it comes to LGBT issues, US Green Party presidential candidate Jill
Stein's running a questionable and ineffective campiagn, and much more.

This
morning there were many interesting articles about Martin Kobler's
presentation on Iraq to the United Nation's Security Council yesterday.
Kobler is the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Iraq. And the
few articles this morning about the presentation were nothing like what
Kobler delivered yesterday. (This afternoon, UPI produced a report that
demonstrated their correspondent saw the actual presentation.) But the
reports this morning were a lot like the press conference Kobler held
after -- about an hour after -- the Security Council presentation. You
have to wonder how editorial boards ever pretend to have an ethical
stature to call others out from when their reporters lie? A press
briefing is not the report Kobler presented to the UN Security Council.

Kobler's report was interesting for what it
said. It was even more interesting for what it didn't say but you
probably needed to hear the report to know that and you probably needed
to have heard the April report to be able to offer context in July.

April 10th was when he made his previous presentation and we covered that in the April 10th snapshot and the April 11th snapshot. His Thursday report we covered yesterday
and we'll continue that coverage now. When we left off yesterday, he
was talking about 12 acts of violence a day and over 1,300

UN
Special Envoy Martin Kobler: Each victim is one victim too many. The
Iraqi authorities must continue to make every effort to identify the
perpetrators of these acts of violence and bring them to justice. These
attacks are intended to ignite further violence. Despite the
sufferings, Iraqis from all walks of life and religious backgrounds must
turn their backs on past divisions and unite for a peaceful future.
Mr. President, human rights are a cornerstone of Iraq's democratic
future and are at the core of United Nations mandate in Iraq. To this
end, UNAMI [United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq] continues to
support activities of the Ministry of Human Rights in ensuring that Iraq
meets its international humanitarian rights obligations. As I informed
the Council members last April, the Council of Representatives endorsed
the appointment of the Commissioners of Iraq's first Independent High
Commission for Human Rights. And I am pleased to further report the
commissioners have now met and started their work. UNAMI and UNDP
[United Nations Development Programme] are supporting the Commission in
this process. The findings of the 2011 United Nations report on the
Human Rights Situation in Iraq published in May underlined the fragility
of human rights situation in Iraq. The report's conclusions largely
coincided with the Ministry of Human Rights own findings. While it is
recognized that the government of Iraq has made progress in implementing
measures to protect and promote human rights, the impact on the overall
human rights situation remains limited. The UN is assisting the Iraqi
authorities in strengthening the rule of law and boosting protections
for human rights in Iraq to bring an end to abuses like arbitrary
arrests and detentions. The economic, culture and social rights of
Iraqis are also a matter of real concern. Poverty, high unemployment,
economic stagnation, environmental degradation and a lack of basic
services continue to effect large sections of the population. It is
vital that Iraqis -- in particular, vulnerable groups -- be provided
with better access to basic services, social welfare and community
development programs and opportunities for education. Nothing less is
required in order to provide for the success of future generations. The
rights of all Iraqis -- including minorities -- must be protected as
stipulated in the Iraqi Contrib -- Iraqi Constitution. Mr. President,
Iraq retains the death penalty for a large number of crimes. I
therefore reiterate the call by the Secretary-General [Ban Ki-moon] and
the High Commissioner of Human Rights for the government of Iraq to
establish a moratorium on all executions with a view to their
abolition. I welcome that the authorities of the Kurdistan Region
continue to implement a moratorium on carrying out executions which has
been in place since 2007.

That's
not the end of his report. We'll continue noting from there in order
but we're breaking parts up. It was interesting how in both the written
report (July 11th) and the oral report Kobler gave yesterday, the
Russian bikers were ignored. 5 men threatened with the death penalty, 5
men arrested and beaten. An international incident and not a word on
it. But Kobler wasn't very interested in words. There was time to
whine about his budget taking a 20% cut next year but not time to note,
as the written report did:

Journalists
and media professionals in Iraq continue to face arbitrary arrest and
detention and to suffer from intimidation and attacks as a result of
their profession. During the reporting period, UNESCO and UNOPS [United
Nations Office for Project Services] trained 240 media professionals in
Basra, Erbil and Baghdad on security, self-protection, risk management
and trauma first aid to enable them to cope with existing professional
threats and risks.

The
issue so bothered Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that he raised it twice
in the written report (the first time is quoted above). When Kobler
states he's repeating the Secretary-General's point about stopping death
penalty, he's referring to the written report (it's the 72nd paragraph
in the written report).

Iraq being discussed
before the UN. That means what topic gets touched on that the US media
usually ignores? Chapter VII. Iraq was placed in that status by the
UN as a result of Iraq's war on Kuwait.

Speical
Envoy Martin Kobler: Let me now turn to some of the regional and
international developments pertaining to Iraq. As you know, Prime
Minister Maliki's visit to Kuwait in March was followed by the historic
visit of the Emir of Kuwait [Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah] to
Baghdad to attend the Arab League Summit. These two visits have
markedly improved bi-later relations between Kuwait and Iraq and
facilitated the resumption of the meetings of the Joint Ministerial
Committee. Iraq has also taken decisive steps to finalize the
Iraqi-Kuwait border maintenance project in accordance with Resolution
833. At the request of both parties, the United Nations is preparing
now for maintenance work to start by 31st of October provided that key
prerequisites -- like the removal of obstacles on the borders -- are met
bringing all Chapter VII obligations pertaining to Kuwait to a
satisfactory close will boost prospects for bilateral trade,
investment, promote regional cooperation and lead to the restoration of
Iraq's rightful standing within the international community. In this
regard, I would also like to take the opportunity to welcome the
adoption of on 28th of June by the Council of Representatives of a law
ratifying the additional protocol to the Comprehensive Safeguards
Agreement of the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] and encourage
the government of Iraq to take the remaining steps to ensure its entry
into force as soon as possible. Mr. President, the intensity and
frequency of sand and dust storms mainly generated from inside Iraq has
increased in recent years. They have significant impact on public
health in Iraq and in the wider region -- especially for the most
vulnerable -- and they effect transport and trade. During my visit to
Kuwait in June and following an offer by the Emir of Kuwait to invest a
portion of Iraq's outstanding war compensation funds back into Iraq, I
proposed an environmental fund to combat sand and dust storms. If Iraq
and Kuwait agree, the fund could be used to undertake activities to
reduce this health hazard which is impeding daily life in the region.
Such activities might include improving water resource management, anti
desertification, re-forestification and agricultural projects. Mr.
President, needless to say that the ongoing violence in Syria is a
source of deep concern given the potential for the spread of instability
and violence, humanitarian fall out and political repercussions. The
UN system in Iraq is putting in place contingency plans for possible
humanitarian emergency. In this connection, I recently visited a
refugee camp in the Kurdistan Region for those displaced by the conflict
in Syria. So far, with 7,000 refugees, their number are manageable.
On 10th of July, the United Nations and League of Arab States
Joint-Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Kofi Anan, visited Iraq and met with
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The government of Iraq was very clear
on the policy of a political transition that is Syrian-led and
Syrian-owned and ensures that the legitimate and democratic aspirations
of the Syrian people are fully realized.

So
there's a refugee camp in the KRG. And the KRG has a moratorium on the
death penalty. Wonder how much bleaker the state of Iraq would be
reported to the Security Council as being if the Special Envoy didn't
keep including the semi-autonomous KRG region?

As he continues, he'll note some basic numbers.

Special
Envoy Martin Kobler: Mr. President, the United Nations in Iraq also
continues to support the development of effective, accountable and
transparent state institutions. My new deputy and resident humanitarian
coordinator for Iraq, Ms. Jacqueline Babcock, took up her duties on
13th of May. She has already shown her determination and leadership in
coordinating the UN country team to deliver as one. I have asked her to
ensure that the country team strengthens its presence and activities
across the country. This is taking shape in Basra. There, the UN funds
and programs can assist in bringing the quality of life in this oil rich
province to those levels found in other oil rich countries in the
region. Mr. President, let me briefly highlight two of the priority
areas with important political, security and development implications
where the UN system in Iraq is working together. Iraq is one of the
most youthful countries in the world with 50% of the population under
the age of 18. At the same time, the unemployment rate for youth is
more than double the domestic average with 23%. The UN system is
supporting programs aimed at increasing youth participation in social,
political and economic spheres. Building on the International Year of
Youth 2011, the UN is supporting civil-society groups to strengthen
their role in ensuring democratic spaces and freedom. The third UNDP
National Development Report focuses on youth and will be published later
this year. As with youth, women are important actors in Iraq's
development. Yet the illiteracy rate among Iraqi women is more than
double that of Iraqi men. In my meetings with the Iraqi governmental
interloculators, as well as women's civil-society organizations, I
advocate for the adoption and implementation of the proposed National
Strategy on the Advancement of Women. The UN family is working to
support women take up their role also in political and economic life.
The UN is also continuing to implement Security Council Resolution 1322
and to encourage the government to fulfill its committment in this
regard.

Now we're
getting to Camp Ashraf. Camp Ashraf were approximately 3,500 residents
who were Iranian dissidents. They came to Iraq in the 80s and had
protection up to the Iraq War. When the US-launched war toppled the
government of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the US government --
largely via US military officers -- began a dialogue with the residents
which resulted in their surrendering their arms and becoming protected
persons under the Geneva Agreement and international law. Though never
legally revoked, that protection would be ignored once Barack Obama was
sworn in as US president. Nouri would twice attack the camp resulting
in multiple deaths and a large number of wounded. Humanitarian
organizations -- Amnesty, for example -- would decry the attacks but the
US government would remain silent. When you read over Kobler's remarks
in a second, focus on what's really harming Camp Ashraf right now.

UN
Special Envoy Martin Kobler: Finally, Mr. President, I still remain
very concerned by the lack of progress in resolving the issue of Camp
Ashraf. 2,000 residents of Camp Ashraf have relocated to Camp Hurriyah
[Liberty] in the last months. Approximately 1,200 remain in Camp
Ashraf. The several deadlines set by the government of Iraq have been
extended. I thank the government of Iraq for their flexibility in this
regard and I appeal to the Iraqi authorities to continue the process to
resolve the relocation peacefully. Our committment is strictly
humanitarian, to facilitate a voluntary, temporary relocation of
residents to Camp Hurriyah as the first step of resettlement to
countries outside of Iraq; however, the success of a facilitator depends
at least on good will. Their can be no facilitation without
constructive and practical dialogue. We are faced with three main
challenges. First, recent weeks have witnessed difficulties in
maintaining dialogue between UNAMI and the residents and between the
residents and the government of Iraq reinforcing a perception that the
residents lack genuine will to participate in the process faciliated by
UNAMI. Second, responsiblity also falls on the many international
supporters. It is of great importance that they contribute to
positively influence the residents' position. And third, to date
almost no memeber-state has stepped forward to offer resettlement to
eligible, former Ashraf residents. There must be a way out of Hurriyah
in the foreseeable future. Without prospect for resettlement, the
ongoing process runs the risk of collapsing. The tempoary transit
location at Camp Hurriyah has the capacity to accomodate the remaining
1,200 residents and meets acceptable humanitarian standards. Both UNAMI
and UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] have
devoted substantial energy and resources to resolving this issue. More
than 100 staff are dedicated to the project in the meantime. I appeal
to the government of Iraq to be generous -- particularly in terms of
humanitarian needs like water and electricity and to avoid violence
under any circumstances. I also appeal to camp residents to abide by
Iraqi laws and avoid provocation and violence. Time is running out to
find a sustainable solution. The government's patience is wearing thin.
I would therefore like to echo the Secretary-General and urge Camp
Ashraf residents to cooperate with the Iraqi authorities and to relocate
from Camp Ashraf to Camp Hurriyah. It is also imperative that third
countries step forward to accept eligible residents for resettlement as
soon as possible without which there can be no durable solution.

The residents have stopped moving to Camp Liberty. They want to take items such as generators. Why?

Nouri doesn't want them to take items such as generators. Why?

Because both sides don't believe that the Camp Ashraf residents will soon leave Camp Liberty. Why don't they believe it?

Because
no one's left so far and that's because other countries aren't willing
to take them in. In Nouri al-Maliki's view, Camp Liberty is just a
place to store Camp Ashraf residents for another lengthy period. In his
view, he's being conned and then in a year or two, he'll be told
they'll be moved somewhere else in Iraq. It's a view Camp Ashraf
residents can share. Because both they and Nouri have seen 1200 moved
and not resettled anywhere. They're just remaining in Camp Liberty, the
same way they remained in Camp Ashraf. If Nouri (or the government in
Tehran) is to believe that the residents are being resettled, they're
going to have to see some resettled. It's not that complicated.

Why
are so many nations so reluctant to take them? Because the US
government refuses to do their job. Camp Ashraf residents are part of
the MEK. The MEK is considered a terrorist group by the US government
-- the Clinton administration put them on that list in the late 90s in
an effort to make an overture to the government of Iran. Though ordered
by a federal court to resolve the MEK status quickly, the State Dept
refused and now has until October to do so or the court will impose a
punishment. (Whether Barack Obama is re-elected president or not,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has already stated she will not serve
a second term in her post. An October deadline from the court is a
joke because the administration will treat it as such -- either because
they will quickly become a lameduck one or because they will be looking
for a new Secretary of State.) Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and
those under them have repeatedly and falsely equated MEK and Camp
Ashraf residents as one grouping.

The US
government does not recognize the MEK as protected persons. The US
government does recognize Camp Ashraf residents as protected persons.
This issue should have been resolved a long time ago, the US government
made promises and needs to keep them. The easiest way is to create an
excpetion for the Camp Ashraf residents. That's 3,200 people
currently. They are all in Iraq. Those in Iraq transferring out would
not be considered "terrorists." This is due to where they were located,
due to the stationary aspect of their location and due to the fact that
the US government already gave them protected persons status. That
status expires only when they are out of Iraq so it is in the US
government's best interests to get them out of Iraq quickly. The State
Dept could easily create a subgrouping of those residents in Iraq to
allow other countries to take them in.

The
refusal to do so means the Barack Obama administration will likely have
blood on their hands because one side will likely explode in a very
short time. This has been going on too long and neither Nouri nor the
residents are seeing any progress. If the US government can not
seriously assist the Camp Ashraf residents by creating a
subgrouping/classification for them and violence takes place, those
deaths -- Iraqis or Ashraf residents -- will be the responsibility of
the US White House.

There was a lot mentioned
in the report. A lot overlooked as well. As he winds down, Kobler
makes the decision that UNAMI itself -- and its budget -- is more
important than any Iraqi topic that he could include in the final
moments.

Special Envoy
Martin Kolber: Mr. President, in my introduction, I posed the question
of whether the people of Iraq still need UNAMI? I am convinced that
UNAMI is needed more than ever to help Iraq complete its transition to a
stable and prosperous democracy. UNAMI has the legitimacy and the
standing to represent the international community in Iraq. Iraqis from
all communities look to UNAMI to protect their aspirations and to ensure
their needs are met. With Security Council support, UNAMI will
continue its efforts to address the many outstanding issues crucial to
securing Iraq's future. The substantial cut of 20% of UNAMI's budget in
2013 requires that we do more with less. In this context, the mission
may need to reconsider some areas of operation. Mr. President, I
should like to sincerely thank the members of the council for their
continued support, the government of Iraq and the wider membership of
the United Nations as well as the staff of UNAMI for their unrelenting
commitment and dedication to implement our mandate. Thank you very
much.

And that was
it. Last April, in his presentation to the UN Security-Council, he
refused to note the targeting of Iraq's LGBT community. In the written
report (written in March), there was a passing reference ("perception of
their sexual orientation") with the promise that the UN was in the
process of corroborating the reported deaths and would address it when
they had. It's months later, presumably the UN has been able to
corroborate those reports in some fashion by now. So why can't Martin
Kobler talk about it? It's not even in the written report (which was
published July 11th). There is no mention made of it. If Martin Kobler
wishes to represent Iraqis, he needs to represent all Iraqis. He needs
to find it in his comfort zone to use the terms "gay" and "lesbian."
If that's too much work for him, if it's too much of a stretch, he needs
to find a new position. The United Nations was silent as young
Iraqis were targeted -- males and females -- because they were believed
to be gay or to be Emo or both. Rolling Stone and NME covered it. But
the United Nations stayed silent. The US State Dept covered it in their
own human rights report. But the United Nations stayed silent. That's
unacceptable.

Last month, Igor Volsky (Think Progress) noted
(March 7, 2012), "Earlier today, the UN Human Rights Council held the
first hearing 'to discuss discrimination and violence against LGBT
people." UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon issued a special message to
the council, decrying violence against the LGBT community as a
'monumental tragedy' that is a 'stain on our collective conscience' and a
'violation of international law' [. . .]" and he quotes UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon stating, "To those who are gay, lesbian,
bisexual or transgender, let me say -- you are not along. Your struggle
for an end to violence and discrimination is a shared struggle. Any
attack on you is an attack on the universal values the United Nations
and I have sworn to uphold."

Is Kobler not part of the UN? Has he sworn to do the same.

We
got a little talk about women in this presenation. That is new.
Previous presentations to the Security Council by the Special Envoy to
Iraq frequently left women out. But apparently, something more "gross"
and "disgusting" than women has been found by the office of Special
Envoy: Iraq's LGBTs.

It was really
disgusting to hear Kobler prattle on about violence and minorities and
never once note the attacks on Iraq's LGBT community. It was
disgusting.

You may remember that
Kobler silence on LGBT was an issue that continued past the two
snapshots on the April report. You may remember my noting UN friends
swore he'd include it when the figures were verified. The figures were
verified -- I've 'verified' that with UN friends this morning. And
still Kobler said nothing. There was time for budget and shout-outs,
but no time for Martin Kobler to find his comfort level with gays and
lesbians.

Martin Kobler better start
representing all of Iraq or become the leading face of homophobia in the
United Nations. On that last possibility, he's already well on his
way.

As the Washington Post notes, the holy day of Ramadan is arriving. Alsumaria reports that Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has declared Saturday to be the first day of Ramadan. Al Mada carries a Ramadan greeting congratulating
all Iraqis and asking for their blessing in the coming year with God
Almighty strengthening their path to justice, freedom and security. Kitabat notes
that there are calls for the government to grant leave for employees on
days when the temperature reaches 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees
Fahrenheit). While the sun is up, those observing the Muslim holiday
are supposed to fast. Before sunrise and after sunset, those observing
the holiday can eat. However, food prices are rising in Iraq. Alsumaria is the latest this week to report
on the sharp increase in prices for basic items such as lentils. The
Ministry of Commerce is insisting that they got materials to the stores
in time so any increase in prices is not their fault. The article also
notes that the high prices might make Ramadan slowly disappear as a part
of Iraqi life -- as other habits have been forgotten in Iraq. It seems
unlikely that Ramadan could disappear from Iraq but then come reports
about how hard it is for some to observe it.

Al Mada notes
that unemployment is also a huge issue during the holy month and only
more so when the food prices increase. They speak with Hani Rseg who is
a construction worker and tells the paper that he didn't get any wages
for four months because contractors rarely get paid on time and when
money did come in, there was electricity, gasoline, water and other
things to pay for and only now is he able to shop for Ramadan. Police
officer Ahmed Radhi al-Hleaj states that he's paying a car loan and
wouldn't be able to afford Ramadan except that he's taken on a second
job working as a taxi driver.

Rahim
Ruhayem: In distribution centers, few complain about waste or
abundance. Dawood is a construction worker in central Baghdad and he's
come to collect his monthly share. He told me the distribution system
is gradually fading away.

Dawood:
It's getting less and less, year by year, month by month. And there is
no variety. We get cooking oil. Sometimes rice, flour. No tea, no
washing powder, no salt. Many things have been scrapped. And they will
probably cancel the rest too. The whole thing will be finished soon.
We better get used to it.

Rahim
Ruhayem: The government insists it has no plans to end the system, it
only talks of reform over the coming years. At a cost of about five
billion dollars a year, the Iraqi state hands out food to its people.
But some of these people need it a lot more than others. 23% of Iraqis
live below the poverty line. If the government wants to reform the
system, it has a delicate balance to strike between encouraging
productivity and less reliance on the state on one hand while making
sure on the other not to jeopardize the food security of those most in
need. Rahim Ruhayem, BBC News, Baghdad.

Census numbers might change the ration-card numbers but, as Al Mada points out, Iraq has not had a census since 1997 and both the 2007 and 2009 censuses were postponed (by Nouri). Today, Al Mada reports,
a member of Parliament's Finance Committee told the paper that the
government does not know the actual population in Iraq and depends upon a
random and inaccurate figure based on indicators and that their is a
wide difference between the Ministry of FInance's figure and the ration
card number and between the Ministry of Plannin's figure and the ration
car number.

Earlier this week, as continued unemployment was met with soaring food prices, Al Mada reported
that there are accusations in Hilla that food merchants are
intentionally introducing small amounts of food to the markets in order
to artifically pump up the prices by creating scarcity. This comes as
Babylon Province sees less and less items for sale that can be purchased
with ration cards. True or false, the federal government should be
addressing this item though they will most likely ignore it. If it
isn't true, the rumors will still take root because food prices are
increasing, ration items are becoming scarce and hunger isn't something
people can overlook the way they might endure electricity outages. So
as the hunger and anger builds, even if the rumors are false, a need to
hold someone accountable can build and, if it does, it could leave
food merchants targeted. If the rumors are true, the federal government
needs to deal with it (a) to show that it can deal with something, (b)
the economy cannot take higher prices (unless Nouri intends to expand
the ration card system) and (c) the federal government still has the
power to set controls on various aspects of retail within the
country. In addition, Nasiriyah reported
that in an effort to try to reach 12 hours of electricity a day for the
holy month of Ramadan, Iraqi is increasing energy imports from Iran.

Alsumaria notes
that Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is calling on Iraqi Muslims to
watch the crescent moon this evening to determine whether Ramadan is
starting.

Yesterday,
Nouri al-Maliki attempted to seize control of the news cycle but, as is
so often the case with Nouri, lost instead. He insisted that the White
House had conveyed, in a letter, their support for his attempts to
cancel the October contract the Kurdistan Regional Government signed
with ExxonMobil. No such thing happened. But some outlets live to be
sucker-punched. Let's note one of the few who realized that journalism
involves skepticism of official statements. Here's Kristin Deasy (Global Post) on those claims:

Iraqi
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki claimed late Thursday to have received a
message from US President Barack Obama indicating that the US sided
with Baghdad in its deepening row with Kurdistan over the management of
the northern region's oil resources, reported Reuters.The message from Baghdad -- which did not quote the alleged Obama letter directly
or provide any copy of it -- welcomed the "positive" US position on the
matter, which it said was "in the same manner as the Iraqi government
is seeking," said Reuters.

To
repeat, in the United States, there is no state control over oil
companies. In Iraq, Nouri's lies can fly somewhat because that
country has a history of nationalized oil companies. As a result, a
casual news consumer would hear of Nouri's claim and think nothing of
it. But in the US, where it's far more likely that a multi-national oil
company will control the government than the goverment ever control an
oil company, that claims is laughable on its face.

In October,
ExxonMobil and the KRG signed their contract. Nouri's Baghdad-based
government played angry, spurned lover sending one letter after another
to ExxonMobil, each basically screeching, "How could you! After all
we've been through!"

As Iraq's Minister of Oil confirmed in early
2012, ExxonMobil elected to ignore those letters and not respond. And
Nouri had nothing else to offer. So last month he began making noise
that the US government -- specifically the White House (Nouri has always
been hugely unpopular in the US Congress) -- should break
ExxonMobil's contract.

Which again demonstrates how stupid and
not ready to be prime minister Nouri actually is. The White House has
no control over ExxonMobil. And this was conveyed to Nouri -- as the
Iraqi press noted. But with US Vice President Joe Biden's National
Security Adviser Antony Blinken in Iraq, Nouri decided to spin the
visit. It would have been laughable on any day but it was especially
laughable yesterday when another major multi-national oil corporation
elected to bypass Baghdad and sign with the KRG. David R. Baker (Fuel Fix) notes:

Chevron
Corp. will hunt for oil in northern Iraq's Kurdish region — the
company's first major effort in the volatile country since the 2003
invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.The deal, made public
Thursday, lands Chevron squarely in the midst of post-war Iraq's bitter
oil politics, with rival regions and ethnic groups fighting over how to
develop the country's vast petroleum reserves. Chevron faces significant
risk, and the potential of great reward.

In Iraq where safety has never been secured, Alsumaria reports
a Yezidi girl was burned alive in her Mosul home -- some are saying it
is suicide, no finding has been established yet. Alsumaria notes that
2011 saw 6 confirmed cases of murder and ten case of confirmed suicides
by burning -- in addition there were 85 who were injured by burning.
Yesterday NINA reported 1 Peshmerga died in a Kirkuk sticky bombing and two more were injured.

No emergence of security, no end to the political stalemate. Al Mada reports
the National Alliance (again) discussed their Reform Committee paper.
They've discussed it so much that they must know it by heart. NINA reports
that Iraqiya's Hani Ashur has declared "the reforms paper prepared by
the National Alliance on its way to failure, where there is no agreement
upon [it] even within the National Alliance and it became a mean to buy
time and not for the reforms, it will not see the light or [be] put on
the table of dialogue. The reform paper is not more than an attempt to
melt the crisis and the government is not serious in dealing with it,
and the crisis may [be] back to the first square."

In what may end up being the most explosive political news out of Iraq this week, Al Mada reports
the existence of a document signed by Nouri from October 2009 in which
he secretly asked then-House Speaker Ayad al-Samarri not to question
Hussain al-Shahristani. al-Shahristani is currently Iraq's Deputy Prime
Minister for Energy. Starting in the spring of 2006 (with Nouri's
becoming prime minister), al-Shahristani became the Minister of Oil.
Despite enjoying a great deal of soft press -- from The National Newspaper, Iraq Oil Report
and pretty much everyone else -- al-Shahristani has no major successes
to point to and Nouri conveyed in the letter that asking al-Sharistani
about corruption or violence would be harmful to the government's
interests. (al-Sharistani is a member of Nouri's State of Law
political slate.)

She
says her name is Anahita, the 28-years-old voice and vitriol behind
Janaza, which is believed to be Iraq's very first female-fronted,
black-metal band. Allow that notion --Iraq's very first female-fronted,
black-metal band -- to sink in for a moment. Her first recording, Burn the Pages of Quran,
boasts five distorted, primitive tracks that altogether run just shy of
an unlucky 13 minutes. She, along with a handful of other acts hailing
from the Middle East, are repurposing black metal's historically
anti-Christian ferocity to rail against Islam. In doing so, these bands
are serving up anotherexample of how art and dissent can intersect in a region where dissent can sometimes have deadly consequences.

Saturday Anna Breslaw (Jezebel) reports that The Atlantic
article might be a hoax and that the photos accompanying it have been
used in publications previously for other metal bands. I meant to
include that Monday (we noted it Saturday) but kept running out of space.

I'd
also hoped to cover Jill Stein's campaign this week and, at the very
least, run a press release from it. Not doing it. Not interested in the
pretense of Bain and how it just can't be understood! That's b.s. and
Bob Somerby's rightly called it out (Somerby most recently called out
the nonsense today).
If Jill and her campaign think repeating those rumors qualifies as
running for office, they're kidding themselves. And if they think
spending three paragraphs on this rumor and then tossing in one
paragraph on Barack is going to make people think they'll hold both
accountable, consider it again. We already saw 2008 when Rosa Clemente
-- Cynthia McKinney's running mate -- was trashing Hillary Clinton with
lies long after she was out of the race but Rosa never could find the
courage or strength to call out Barack. We're not in the mood for
it. If the Green Party thinks inflating their criticism of Barack a
tiny bit after three and half years of non-stop failures by Barack
qualifies as 'strong,' they're crazier than they think the voters are.
Run a real campaign or get out of the damn race.

Mitt
Romney as president is a question mark. Barack Obama is not. If Dr.
Jill can't call out -- on a daily basis -- the treatement of Bradley
Manning, assissinating American citizens, killing due process and
Barack's war on whistle blowers and the Constitution, she's not fit for
office or, for that matter, for the campaign trail. Green Party needs
to beef up their game and Jill's campaign? It's been 7 days since she
gave the speech in Baltimore. Her campaign is still unable to post
video or a transcript of that speech to her website? Someone's not
looking like a real candidate.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Thursday. :D So today Ava and I and our daughters flew to NYC. Where we met up with Elaine and C.I. Ava was going to see her parents mainly and wanted to know if I wanted to go too? Yeah because Elaine and C.I. were going to the UN and I wanted my daughter to see the United Nations.

So that was cool and good because she's going to have to fly to Hawaii (our daughter) next week. And so it was one more flight under her belt. Although it's no big deal to her.

The UN was impressive. I'm not sure what I was expecting. Maybe that someone would get stabbed and I'd be holding the knife? :D That's Cary Grant in North By Northwest.

I was surprised how big it was. It's also really nice. A lot of government buildings don't impress. They're falling apart or they're not cleaned properly or whatever.

On July 14, the New York Times published an article by
national security reporter Scott Shane entitled “The Moral Case for
Drones.” At first glance, one might have thought that the headline was
intended as a Swiftian satire, in the spirit of “A Modest Proposal,” of a
particularly gruesome violation of legality by the Obama
administration. But no satire was intended. Quite the opposite: the
piece seeks to justify the assassination program run out of the Obama
White House, which has resulted in hundreds of deaths of civilians in
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and elsewhere.Shane first notes
that the “lethal operations [of the drones] inside sovereign countries
that are not at war with the United States raise contentious legal
questions”—only to ignore those questions in the remainder of his
article.On the basis of interviews with “some moral
philosophers, political scientists and weapons specialists,” Shane
suggests that “armed, unmanned aircraft” may “offer marked moral
advantages over almost any other tool of warfare.”The latest article is a follow-up of sorts to a May 29 report in the Times
co-authored by Shane, detailing President Barack Obama’s personal and
apparently eager participation in drawing up lists of those to be killed
in drone and other attacks. The level of state criminality exposed in
that piece, although presumably commissioned by the White House itself,
has vast legal and moral implications.The account of the president’s role produced widespread outrage and, within the ranks of Obama supporters, considerable unease.Responding
to that nervousness, Shane’s July 14 article is an effort to legitimize
the use of drone strikes, to present criminal, homicidal behavior as a
positive good.
Scott Shane, how sad. This isn't his first time doing that. C.I. charted this a long, long time ago.

Barack's Drone War. We need to call it Barack's. It belongs to him and we need no hold him accountable. We also need to make it very clear to the Cult of St. Barack that there's no escaping this. People are dying in this Drone War. That's on Barack.

Thursday,
July 20, 2012. Chaos and violence continue, Iraqiya is on the short
track to head a security ministry or two, Iraqiya is not on the short
track to head a security ministry or two, Cheveron follows ExxonMobil's
lead, Nouri blusters in his embarrassed state, the UN Security-General's
Special Envoy to Iraq tells the UN Security Council about increased
violence in Iraq, Kobler also feels the political stalemate is harming
the country, Syrian 'rebels' control the border between Syria and
Iraq, Senators Patty Murray and Richard Burr have questions about the
VA's Benefits Accreditation Program, we offer another look at the House
Oversight Subcommittee's VA hearing yesterday, and more.

Starting off with Syria as it relates to Iraq. Neocon Michael Rubin (Commentary) is alarmed
that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani offered condolences to Syrian
President Bashar Assad's sister Bushra Assad on the death of Assef
Shawkat. It's outrageous, Rubin feels. The man killed Wednesday is
Bushra Assad's husband. Is Rubin aware of that? Is he also aware that
Syria is one of three countries that borders northern Iraq? Syria,
Turkey and Iran. Talabani is a Kurd from the Kurdistan Region -- that's
northern Iraq. Of course, he would know the Assads. He's traveled to
Syria numerous times to meet with President Bashar Assad -- both before
the start of the Iraq War and today. That the two leaders from
neighboring countries know one another is not surprising. That they
get along has been known since before 2003. Not sure why Rubin sees
something sinister in the whole thing but it reads like more of his
I-hate-Kurdish-people kick that he's been on of late. Rubin rushes to
trash Assad and build up the resistance or 'resistance.' He would
though, he'll never admit that he and his kind created al Qaeda in Iraq
and that's a key part of the Syrian resistance or 'resistance.' We'll
follow Mike's lead in noting Larry Johnson (No Quarter) on this issue:

The
war drums are really blasting in Washington and wishful thinking has
replaced reason and logic. The Obama Administration, with the
full-throated cheerleading of neo-cons like Charles Krauthammer, are
celebrating the terrorist attack on the Government of Bashir Assad and
hoping that Assad folds his tents. Some breathless analysts on Fox News
are even predicting that Assad will be gone in 36 hours. Delusional
horses**t.

The Defense Minister who was
murdered in this attack was a Christian. The group claiming credit for
the attack has direct links to the same folks that fill the ranks of Al
Qaeda in Iraq. So who are we backing? Why, the al Qaeda guys, of course.

New
York, July 18, 2012--Two Iraqi journalists living in Syria and covering
the conflict in that country were killed on Saturday although news
reports differed on crucial details. The Committee to Protect
Journalists continues to investigate the circumstances of the deaths,
which come amid reports of increasing violence toward Iraqis living in
Syria.

Falah
Taha, a freelance journalist who contributed to several Iraqi news
outlets, was killed while covering ongoing clashes between government
forces and the Free Syrian Army in the capital, Damascus, numerous news
reports said. An unidentified group of armed men killed Ali Juburi al-Kaabi, editor-in-chief of the Baghdad-based weekly Al-Zawraa, in Jaramana, a suburb of Damascus, according to news reports. Al-Zawraa is a weekly issued by the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, news reports said.

News
accounts carried few details about the deaths. While most reports said
both journalists were shot to death, some accounts citing Iraqi army
officials said they had also been stabbed. Most reports describe the
deaths as having occurred separately in different locations although
some accounts said the journalists both died in Jaramana.

On the topic of oil, Reuters reports that for the third straight month, Iraq's exports have fallen "below 2.4 million barrels per day". Trade Arabia notes,
"Chevron Corp is buying into blocks in Iraq's Kurdistan, according to
two oil executives involved in the region, as the second-largest U.S.
oil company follows Exxon Mobil Corp into an area where oil rights are a
subject of fierce dispute. Chevron is purchasing 80 per cent of the
Sarta and Rovi blocks from India's Reliance Industries, according to the
two executives, who requested anonymity." If that rumor is true, that
would be a big blow to Nouri. Remember Antony Blinken's meeting with
Nouri yesterday? (Blinken is US Vice President Joe Biden's National
Security Adviser.) Supposedly Blinken made time to press Nouri on
ExxonMobil -- Nouri wants the deal cancelled -- but didn't press him on
Ali Mussa Daqduq. If true, that's really embarrassing. Remember that
first a US official insisted they were already pressing Iraq to
extradite Daqduq to the US and then Nouri's spokesperson made clear that
no such request had been made. And then a US official said they were
'about to' make the request.

A little
over three hours later, Nouri al-Maliki was issuing a statement
claiming he had the US backing on ExxonMobil. He's such a damn liar and
you really have to wonder about the reporters that print his crap
without challenge. It wasn't two weeks ago, that these same outlets
were running with Nouri met with the UN and UN says Camp Ashraf must --
no, the United Nations didn't say it but did we ever get a retraction
from the press? Of course note. So Aseel Kami and Braden Reddall (Reuters) take stenography today and want you to know that Nouri has the US backing on ending that deal the KRG and ExxonMobile signed back in October.

Now
high likely is it that the US government, via Blinken, conveyed
anything of meaning regarding ExxonMobil? Not at all likely. In the
United States, there is no state control of the oil companies. (Some
would argue there is control of the government by the oil companies and
certainly the Iraqi press have had stories where the White House has
conveyed to Nouri that he needs to work things out with ExxonMobil.) So
it's a non-story but watch how it gets parroted over and over by news
outlets that make Hedda Hopper look like Bob Woodward.

On this morning's Chevron rumors, AP reports that they are true and Chevron and the KRG signed a deal today. Reuters notes Chevron has purchased "80 percent of two blocks in Kurdistan." Tina Davis (Bloomberg News) clarifies, "Chevron Corp. (CVX) agreed to buy Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL)'s 80 percent stake in two blocks covering about 490 square miles (1,124 square kilometers) in Iraq's Kurdistan region." Mark Lawson (Wall St. Cheat Sheet) adds,
"These blocks are north of Erbil and contain a combined area of around
490 square miles. The subsidiaries in question will partner with OMV
Rovi GmbH and OMV Sarta GmbH, which hold 20 percent interest in the Rovi
and Sarta PSCs, respectively." Hassan Hafidh (Dow Jones) explains,
"Under the agreement with Kurdistan, Chevron must drill two wells by
November 2013, company spokesman Gareth Johnstone said." In addition, Oil & Gas Journal notes,
"A group led by Hunt Oil Middle East has tested a combined flow rate of
13,584 b/d of oil from three zones at the deepened Simrit-2 well in the
Kurdistan Region of Iraq with nine more zones to be drillstem tested.
Afren PLC, which has a 20% interest in the Ain Sifni PSC, said the well
has been drilled to 3,800 m and encountered 460 m of net oil pay."

Meanwhile the latest Sports Illustrated
it out and the Jul 23, 2012 issue is the Olympic Preview issue. When
it was slid over to me by a friend at Time-Warner-CNN-Pony Express, it
was stressed that the issue had a big "Arab Spring" spread. Big? It's
ten pages. Why we'd be interested in it -- no Iraq athletes are
included in the article -- is beyond me. If Tunisia's your thing, pick
up the issue. (They also don't pick any Iraqis to place in the top three
of any event. Afghanistan's Rohullah Nikpai is the only one they pick
from Aghanistan and they predict he'll take the Silver in 68 kg
Taekwondo. It's a shame they spent 12 pages on predictions when they
could have profiled more athletes in that space instead of wasting it on
I-think-this-will-happen.) The Summer Olympics
kick off in London in less than 8 days (7 days, 20 hours the counter
currently reads). Iraq has 8 athletes competing. The three women are:
Dana Abdul Razak, event: 100m; Noor Amer Al Ameri, event: Women's 10m
Air Pistol; and Rand al-Mashhadani, event: Archery, Women's
individual. The five men are: Mohanad Ahmed Dheyaa al-Azzawi, event:
Swimming, Men's 100m Butterfly; Safaa al-Jumaili, event: Weightlifting,
men's 85kg; Ali Nadhim Salman Salman; Wrestling, Men's 120kg
Greco-Roman; Adnan Taess Akkar, event: Athletics Men's 800m; and Ahmed
Abdulkareem Ahmed, event: Boxing, Men's Welter (69kg). For more on Iraq
and the Olympics, you can click here for the folder BBC News has created for this topic. Kay Johnson (AP) did a lengthy (and solid) report on Safaa al-Jumail:

But
al-Jamaili has already overcome greater challenges just to keep
competing. He was forced to stop lifting weights for more than a year
after his family fled their home province of Diyala, 90 kilometres (55
miles) northeast of Baghdad, as waves of insurgent attacks and
retaliatory violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslim militias flooded
over the area.

One reason they fled: His older brother was kidnapped and held for three days.

Al-Jamaili,
then 17, was with his brother on that day in 2007. He remembers walking
together toward their aunt's house, feeling lighthearted because he had
just returned from winning a gold medal in a regional youth
championship in Jordan. Then, several armed men accosted the brothers.
Al-Jamaili managed to run away, but his brother was captured.

The
family spent three tense days selling their furniture and borrowing
money to pay a ransom before his brother was finally returned. Then,
they all fled to the northern city of Kirkuk, where al-Jamaili worked
full-time on a construction crew to help the family earn cash.
Weightlifting was out of the question.

.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon states that the turmoil in Syria has negatively effected Iraq, Al Mada reports,
and that the political crisis has prevented Baghdad and Erbil from
addressing Iraq's internal problems. The political crisis, Ban Ki-moon
stated, has prevented efforts to resolve outstanding issues and, without
these issue being resolved, the future of Iraq is threatened.

"As
I sit before the Council today," the UN Secretary-General's Special
Envoy to Iraq Martin Kobler declared this afternoon, "Iraq is in the
midst of a seven month long stalemate between the political blocs. a
situation which continues to hamper progress in areas essential to
Iraq's development including a sustainable solution to the disputed
internal boundaries, the unfinished Constitutional agenda and the
adoption of essential outstanding legislation and the preparation for
next year's provincial council elections."

Kobler
was in New York, speaking to the United Nations Security Council as he
briefed them on Iraq. We'll note some of his testimony in today's
snapshot and some in tomorrow's snapshot.

Special
Envoy Martin Kobler: The question today is whether crucial obstacles
can be overcome in order for the Iraqi state to realize its true
potential. In my assessment, the role of UNAMI will be more important
than ever in supporting Iraq on its journey towards stability and
development. Mr. President since my last briefing to the Council, I've
intensified my engagement with political leaders from all sides in
Baghdad and in the Kurdistan Region, met with representatives of many of
Iraq's communities and listened to the advice of Iraq's spiritual
leaders such as Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf. I've also
sought -- sough the views of the government of Iran, Kuwait and Turkey
on the region. The Core of UNAMI's mandate is to support and assist
the people of Iraq for it is the people of Iraq who want the political
stalemate to end and it is they who want to have a life in security
and prosperity. It is they who want to have a better future for their
children. And it's they who long for the day when benefits from the
natural wealth of the country will translate into the reliable delivery
of electricity and other public services and economic development.
Almost seven years ago, the Iraqi people laid the foundations for
democracy in their country by adopting their Constitution. Today,
however, key institutions have yet to be established and fundamental
legislation remains outstanding -- including the establishment of the
Federation Council, the strengthening of the Judicial System, the
legislation on revenue sharing and hydro-carbons, the protec -- the
protection of minorities. Just to say a few. My colleagues and I have
made the promotion of progress in these areas a priority. In
particular, the legal and policy framework for revenue sharing need to
be put in place and this would constitute a signficant strengthening
of the federal system, improve the environment for investment, and
provide for the agreed distribution of national wealth. Revenue sharing
is vital to help improve Arab-Kurdish co-existence, vital to ensure
that Iraq remains a single federal state and, above all, vital for
advancing a solution in the disputed internal boundaries. Making
progress in unblocking Iraq's unfinished legislative agenda, however
requires an agreement between Iraq's political leaders that will end the
political stalement. Such an agreement must be reached through
transparent and inclusive dialogue in respect of the Constitution and in
a spirt of compromise. Mr. President, there is no democracy without
elections and there are no credible elections without a strong and truly
independent election commission. As we speak, my political deputy, Mr.
Georgi Boston, is engaged in facilitation efforts to bring about the
formation of a new, Independent High Election Commission which is
representative of the main components of Iraq -- including women and
children and minorities. The urgent selection of the commissioners is
essential for ensuring that the provincial council elections due to take
place in March 2013 can be conducted on time. I'm concerned that the
ongoing political stalemate is hindering the process however. In recent
days, I have discussed with political leaders -- including Prime
Minister al-Maliki -- the need for a swfit conclusion of this political
process and the need for an adequate representation of women and
minorities in the commission. Today, I would like to re-iterate my
appeal to all political blocs to expedite the selection of professional
commissioners. UNAMI stands here ready to actively assist. Mr.
President, the number of civilian casualties caused by terrorist attacks
is increasing across Iraq. Since the beginning of this year an
average of 12 violent attacks a day have claimed a total of more than
1,300 lives -- many of them innocent children and women who were simply
at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Uh-oh,
what's a news outlet to do? The UN's going with increased violence
and the White House is insisting that's not the case? What will the
stenographers do? Less than two weeks before the end of the month when
they'll have to note violence. What will the stenographers do?

The
political crisis has already seen two stalemates. The first one lasted
over eight months and followed the March 7, 2010 elections. Nouri's
political slate State of Law came in second to Iraqiya (headed by Ayad
Allawi) but Nouri didn't want to follow the Constitution and demanded a
second term as prime minister. The White House backed Nouri and not the
Iraqi people, their votes, democracy or the Constitution. So the US
government brokered a contract between the political blocs, the Erbil
Agreement, which gave Nouri a second term if he agreed to various
concessions (implementing the Constitution's Article 140, creating an
independent security commission, etc.). Nouri used the Erbil Agreement
(November 2010) to get his second term and then refused to follow the
Erbil Agreement. Once this became obvious, the second political
stalemate had started. By summer 2011, the Kurds, Iraqiya and Moqtada
al-Sadr were calling for a return to the Erbil Agreement. This is the
current and ongoing political stalemate.

This morning Al Mada reported
that Iraqiya is hopeful that one of their own might be nominated to
head one of the security ministries and the names Jawad al-Bolani,
Mustafa al-Hiti and Salah al-Jubouri are among those being tossed out
(by Iraqiya). An unnamed State of Law official seems skeptical about
that happening. al-Jubouri currently serves on the notorious Justice
and Accountability Commission. al-Hiti is a member of Parliament and has
unofficially served as an Iraqiya parliamentary spokesperson since
2010. He is a member of Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq's
National Dialogue Front. In 2009, Jawad al-Bolani wrote a column for
the Washington Post which you can read here.
Jawad al-Bolani served as Minister of the Interior in Nouri's first
Cabinet. It was during that time that the Ministry of the Interior
became synomous with terrorism and power struggles. You can refer to
the Los Angeles Times archives for many reports on that and you should probably start with this July 2007 report by Ned Parker:

This
is Iraq's Ministry of Interior -- the balkanized command center for the
nation's police and mirror of the deadly factions that have caused the
government here to grind nearly to a halt.The very language
that Americans use to describe government -- ministries, departments,
agencies -- belies the reality here of militias that kill under cover of
police uniform and remain above the law. Until recently, one or two
Interior Ministry police officers were assassinated each week while
arriving or leaving the building, probably by fellow officers, senior
police officials say.That killing has been reduced, but
Western diplomats still describe the Interior Ministry building as a
"federation of oligarchs." Those who work in the building, like the
colonel, liken departments to hostile countries. Survival depends on
keeping abreast of shifting factional alliances and turf.On
the second floor is Gen. Mahdi Gharrawi, a former national police
commander. Last year, U.S. and Iraqi troops found 1,400 prisoners,
mostly Sunnis, at a base he controlled in east Baghdad. Many showed
signs of torture. The interior minister blocked an arrest warrant
against the general this year, senior Iraqi officials confirmed.The
third- and fifth-floor administrative departments are the domain of
Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party, a Shiite group.The
sixth, home to border enforcement and the major crimes unit, belongs to
the Badr Organization militia. Its leader, Deputy Minister Ahmed
Khafaji, is lauded by some Western officials as an efficient
administrator and suspected by others of running secret prisons.The seventh floor is intelligence, where the Badr Organization and armed Kurdish groups struggle for control.The
ninth floor is shared by the department's inspector general and general
counsel, religious Shiites. Their offices have been at the center of
efforts to purge the department's remaining Sunni employees. The
counsel's predecessor, a Sunni, was killed a year ago.

For
any who are confused, per the Constitution, yes, Nouri was supposed to
have named heads to the security ministries back in November 2010. His
failure to do so was supposed to mean that he did not advance from prime
minister-designate to prime minister and that, instead, a new person
was named prime minister-designate and given 30 days to come up with a
Cabinet. The US-backed Erbil Agreement 'trumped' the Iraqi
Constitution.

And this afternoon, All Iraq News reports,
Iraqiya spokesperson Maysoon al-Damalouji stated that there were no
nominations from Iraqiya for the post of Minister of Defense and that
they were not asked to provide any names for that post.

All Iraq News reports
Iraqiya's Salem Dali notes that the move to question Nouri before
Parliament continues and that this is necessary because public funds are
being wasted and due to large numbers of Constitutional violations. He
doesn't need to list reasons, the Constitution gives the Parliament the
right to question Nouri. It's good that there are reasons but Nouri's
continued refusal to appear before Parliament is just another example of
how he refuses to follow the Constitution. Nasiriyah reports
that Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq is calling for calm and
dialgoue. Anybody remember how Nouri's Reform Commission was supposed
to meet and finalize things this week? Yeah, what happened to that?
Has his diversion already been dropped? There's not been any coverage
of it all week. However, All Iraq News reports that Allawi is supposed to meet with Moqtada al-Sadr shortly.

One thing the Parliament is putting time into is funding their own personal purchase of firearms. Al Mada reports
the plan to spend five billion dinars is going through and that the
Parliament has even turned down the Ministry of Interior's offer to
provide them with firearms. To be clear, these guns will only be for the
Parliament and they're not passing any laws to provide Iraqi citizens
with guns. Despite the fact that the bulk of them live outside of Iraq
and that they frequently can't show up for sessions or actually earn
their big salaries, they feel that they need guns and that the Iraqi
people should foot the bill.

While the Baghdad-based government
is happy to arm the Parliament -- which, for the record, has no security
area to patrol -- they appear to balk at funding security forces.
Specifically, Al Mada reports
that the Minister of the Peshmerga in the KRG is stating that it
appears Baghdad will not fund the arming of the Peshmerga (Kurdish
security forces) and that the KRG will have to foot that bill. It's
seen as part of the ongoing distance between Baghdad and Erbil.

In other spending news, the Minister of Justice, Hassan al-Shammari, announced yesterday
that Iraq's 27,000 detainees are costing his ministry $20 million per
month (it says "dollars," not "dinars" so I won't bother to do a
conversion). Despite this large figure, Iraqi prisoners are not
receiving health care, the minister notes. Where's the money going?
The only big item listed is electricity. Due to international
standards, Iraq provides (or attempts to provide) electricity to prisons
24 hours, 7 days a week. Kitabat quotes
Minister Hassan al-Shammari declaring that the expenses are food and
maintaining/meeting international standards. Meanwhile Alsumaria reports
that the Ministry of Interior released a statement stating that Nouri
must launch an investigation into the death of prisoner Saddam Mukhlif
while in a Baghdad prison. The cry for an investigation comes as Alsumaria also reports the Ministry of Justice is insisting they've stopped a plan by 16 death row prisoners to escape.

On the topic of electricity, Nasiriyah reports
that in an effort to try to reach 12 hours of electricity a month for
the holy month of Ramadan, Iraqi is increasing energy imports from Iran.

Dropping back to the House
Oversight's Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and
Foreign Operations Wednesday hearing about VA's continued inability to
resolve claims in a timely fashion. Yesterday,
we mainly noted that while the US is gripped by an economic crisis and
facing record debt, the VA has given out $2.8 million to 245
employees. Today we'll cover two other topics. US House Rep Jason
Chaffetz is the Subcomittee Chair and appearing before the Subcommittee
were VA's Undersecretary for Benefits Allison Hickey, the VFW's Gerald
Manar and Disabled American Veterans' Joseph Violante.

"SNL"s
are Simplified Notification Letters which the VBA sends out to veterans
to let them know that their claim has been denied or approved -- if the
latter, a disabilty rating will also be in the letter. Hopefully, the
letter will make sense. Veterans advocates don't feel that has been the
case -- as evidenced by the written statements Manar and Violante
handed in to the Subcommittee. Chair Chaffetz raised the issue.

Chair
Jason Chaffetz: If you get a 100% disability, you're probably going to
agree with it. If you get a five or ten-percent, your probably going
to have some questions. We're trying to find the proper balance between
handing somebody so many documents and simplifying the process. But
these two gentlemen here certainly don't seem to be, based on those
statements, fans of this. How do we find that proper balance?

Allison
Hickey: Chairman Chaffetz, thank you for that question. I will
address it by saying that I, today, provide access to our VSOs to every
one of those files for them to do whatever research they want to do.
They will have even greater access to knowing exactly the data and the
information we know when they are joining us this month on VBMS as we go
into the new Veterans Benefit Management System. In addition, I have
whole heartedly encouraged -- as we go through change, there's
adjustments and adaptations, there's a learning process -- I have wholly
encouraged them at the local unit level when they have a service
officer, the final one that just doesn't have enough for them to go
directly to that supervisor and say, 'Need a little help here, there's
not enough here.'

Chair Jason Chaffetz: But don't you think --

Allison Hickey: We will handle that on the spot. We will train to that as we learn more and more about that.

Chair Jason Chaffetz: Don't you think that that's contributing to the backlog because --

Allison Hickey: I do not.

Chair Jason Chaffetz: -- back in line again and say --

Allison Hickey: It has not. In fact, it's handled on the spot.

Chair Jason Chaffetz: You really think --

Allison Hickey: And it's reduced our backlog by 30,000.

Chair
Jason Chaffetz: You really think that the veterans are convinced that
it's just "handled on the spot"? I mean, our office, we get these all
the time. This is not --

Allison Hickey: Chairman Chaffetz --

Chair
Jason Chaffetz: For you to say that they're just handled on the spot?
Mr. Manar, how would you -- Is that true, are they handled "on the
spot"?

Gerald
Manar: Depending on the regional office and the individuals that our
service officers deal with, they are sometimes handled on the spot. In
other instances -- and it's rare -- our service officers are told, 'If
you don't like it, you can appeal it.' And then there's a wide range of
interactions in between. Our concern isn't -- We're concerned about the
SNL letters because it's not just our service officers trying to figure
out why VA made a decision. We train our people to do that, to go
behind and look at the data and basically re-evaluate it and see if they
would have arrived at the same conclusion. But-but perhaps 50% of
veterans are not represented. So they have to accept whatever VA gives
them on blind faith or decide whether they're going to appeal on their
own. The point here -- and I'd like to say this -- General Hickey has
worked with us signficantly to try to improve these letters. She put
out some directives last February to the field that -- if those
directives were followed -- the letters, barely adequate in our view,
but at least they'd be adequate. The problem is that when we've come
along in April and May and looked at letters and decisions that were
made in many different offices, we're finding a significant number -- 50
to 60% -- that are not getting the job done.

Chair
Jason Chaffetz: That's a pretty high number. Mr. Violante, I know
it's past my time, but I want to give you an opportunity to respond
though. Then we'll go to the gentleman from Illinois.

Joseph
Violante: Like Mr. Manar, we have similar experiences with regard to
whether or not we can get something corrected "on the spot" depending on
the regional office and the employees. With regards to the SNLs, we're
not opposed to the concept. We have seen some good ones come out and we
have brought the bad ones to General Hickey's attention. But if they
can work on that, there is a balance that needs to be done so that
veterans can understand in a simplified way what the VA's decision is.

Now
we're going to focus on another exchange but we're just zooming in on
the Military Sexual Trauma (MST) aspect. It's an issue that doesn't get
enough attention and when it is noted in a hearing, we make a point to
include it in our coverage.

US
House Rep Jackie Speier: And then my third question is on MST. As you
know, military sexual assault is absolutely out of control in the
military, 19,000 cases a year. As I understand it, your reviews have
found differences in denial rates between sexual assault PTSD and other
PTSD cases. I'd like to know what you have found and what you are doing
about it? And for those that have been previously denied, what can be
done for them in terms of refiling and being reconsidered? Thank you.

Allison
Hickey: Thank you, Congresswoman Speier. [. . .] I am so glad you
brought up Military Sexual Trauma. It is the very first issue I grabbed
the reigns on and ran with when I got on station here aside from,
obviously, the backlog. And I will tell you, I'm the one that asked for
us to go show -- show me what our grant denial rate is between MSTPTSD
and what it is between PTSD for the other three -- combat, fear,
terrorism? I asked for us to do that. I got it back and I said, "This
is unacceptable." We had a 20% difference in our grant denial rate. I
said, "We're going to change this process." We did. And by the way,
the process is now in a segmented lane which is one of our new
transformation initiatives. We have trained from the VBA person who
handles it coming in the door through the exam doctor in the health
administration who does the health exam. And we now have everybody
trained. I just got the data last Friday that shows I have closed that
gap as a result of that effort. We have increased our grants a full 35%
in our MST as of last Friday because of the directions we did, the
actions we took to make those right and to do those right [. . .]*

US House Rep Jackie Speier: Mr. Chairman, could I ask a follow up question? I know my time has expired.

Chair Jason Chaffetz: Feel free.

US
House Rep Jackie Speier: Thank you. What are we doing about those
that had their claims denied? Are we going back now and saying refile?

Allison
Hickey: I am glad you asked that question as well, Congressman --
Congresswoman Speier. We are sending letters to everyone we've ever
denied and saying, 'This is what we do. We've got a new process. If you
feel like you were denied in error, please send it to us and we will
re-accomplish it.'

*After "and to do those right" Allison Hickey may say "for women." She hadn't take a breath and her last words were not clear.

From
the House to the Senate, there's important news today from the Senate
Veterans Committee and its leadership. Senator Patty Murray is the
Committee Chair, Senator Richard Burr is the Ranking Member. Chair
Murray's office issued the following:

(Washington,
D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chairman of the Senate
Veterans' Affairs Committee, joined with the Committee's Ranking
Member, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), in sending a letter to the Comptroller General Gene Dodaro requesting assistance from the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) in examining the Department of Veterans Affairs' accreditation
program. The request stems from issues identified during GAO's recently
completed investigation into VA's pension program, which revealed that
individuals and companies are using VA accreditation as a way to take
advantage of elderly veterans and their families.

"The
Government Accountability Office's recent investigation of VA's pension
program, conducted at our request, raised some significant concerns
regarding VA's accreditation program," the Senators wrote in the letter to GAO."GAO's
final report, Veterans' Pension Benefits, highlighted the fact that
some VA accredited individuals may be taking advantage of VA benefits
claimants, such as by charging illegal or exorbitant fees, engaging in
deceptive marketing practices, or selling unsuitable financial products
or services."

The full text of the letters follows:

The Honorable Gene L. Dodaro

Comptroller General

U.S. Government Accountability Office

441 G Street NW

Washington, DC 20548-0001

Dear Mr. Dodaro:

The
Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Office of the General Counsel
provides accreditation to attorneys, claims agents, and representatives
of veterans service organizations so they can assist VA benefits
claimants with the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of VA
claims. To become accredited, an individual must demonstrate a level of
proficiency in VA's policies and procedures to be able to provide
assistance with VA claims. Also, restrictions exist regarding fees that
can be charged by accredited individuals for services associated with
VA benefit claims.

In
light of these concerns, we request the assistance of the GAO in
examining the following questions: (1) What are VA's policies and
procedures for accrediting and providing oversight, including data
collection and analysis, of those individuals? (2) Are there potential
vulnerabilities in VA's existing policies and procedures which may allow
abuses of the accreditation system? (3) What is the process for
suspending or revoking accreditation if abuses are found to have
occurred?

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About Me

I'm Michael, Mike to my friends. College student working his way through. I'm also Irish-American and The New York Times can kiss my Irish ass. And check out Trina's Kitchen on my links, that's my mother's site.